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Thursday, April 10, 2014

finding inspiration

I am really excited to announce my partnership with the Creative Council by UGG Australia. I will be collaborating with UGG over the next few months - interpreting their color focused Spring 2014 line, bringing it to life and putting my own creative spin on their inspiration.

To kick off my partnership with the Creative Council, today I am sharing my top five favorite tips for finding inspiration! Inspiration is the most important part of my creative process. Without excitement, joy and understanding of what it means to look for inspiration, you run the risk of losing motivation to keep up a creative routine. My goal as an artist is to stay offline when looking for ideas. I want my work to be authentic and speak to my daily experiences and the only way for me to do this is by seeking inspiration in everyday moments and in the things around me.

1. CARRY A CAMERA EVERYWHERE: One of the most important things I do is carry a camera everywhere I go. I make sure I always have a way to capture the things that catch my eye. From the farmers market to my neighborhood to my daily walk on the beach, I am always on the look out for things that inspire and can be captured in a photo. The result is a library of thousands of photos that I pull from when I sit down to draw, paint, craft and come up with tutorials and classes. Taking photos has become such an essential part of my creative process that I cannot survive without a camera these days.

2. HUNT AND GATHER: I've always been a treasure hunter- from beach combing to picking flowers to looking for leaves and stones on the ground, I love finding things that catch my eye. And now that I am a mom, this ritual of hunting and gathering has become one of the special ways that I can inspire and connect with my daughter Lucy. All of the things we find are put to use as inspiration or get transformed into art and craft projects.

3. WALK WHEN POSSIBLE: This is an incredibly simple concept - choosing to walk instead of driving - but this concept has changed my life and the way I gather inspiration. While I don't have lots of free time I do make a point to go for walks. We live in a small town and many things are within walking distance so while it would be much quicker to jump in the car to go to the store, I try to walk instead. Often it is during these walks that I find myself feeling most inspired and connected with my life, creativity and ideas.

4. SURROUND YOURSELF WITH BEAUTY: I am a big believer in having things around me that inspire and keep the creative juices flowing. I like to fill my studio with flowers, decorate with color pattern and texture and create inspiration boards when I am working on projects. My hope is that surrounding myself with beauty will influence my work and spark unique ideas.

5. PERMISSION TO PLAY: While I love going out looking for inspiration, I have also discovered that staying in the studio and "playing" is just as valuable. When I need ideas one of the first things I do is pull out my supplies and have fun! I don't get caught up in creating anything specific instead I give myself permission to just mess around- I splatter, I blend, I finger paint, I scribble. Whether I am painting, drawing or sewing, I know that this process helps me explore and discover new ideas.

36 comments:

Congratulations on your collaboration with UGG !!!And your tips for being creative, I can only agree with them ! For me, what is also very important, is the ability to leave stress behind... Stress totally kills my creativity... So if I want to "create" something (whatever that may be, photos, crafting, handwork, drawing, it doesn't matter what...), I try not to think about work, to do lists, and most important, I switch my cellphone off !

Congrats on this wonderful news, how fun for you and them!! I love this post and the beautiful pictures!

I agree with these tips and try to use some of them. Having a camera with me at all times is a must for me too. I am a scrapper but mostly just Project Lifer now but love to take pictures. I have come to love paint/art/sketching in these last few years though and it's my creative outlet. I get inspired by my kids clothing, especially socks and my grandmas too when I do her wash. I've done lots with just these items alone. Being outside is a must for me. I do enjoy taking classes, like yours and a few others to help give me new ideas. As weird as this may sound I actually dream of colors and images and wake up remembering them and write them down. That is my biggest and most surprising one. I get so many ideas this way and just run with it. When this happens I am at my most happiest and most peaceful feeling.

Congrats on UGG and I wish you much success. Inspiration comes in many forms. Spending time with the grandkids and a bunch of modeling clay or a tray of paints and a bunch of rocks is always an eye opener. Just being outside in nature is a great one for me. All the things to see as well as leaving all the stress behind.

Just wanted to comment on your new project--I love it!!! I look forward to seeing how your work and UGG is combined. To take a what is essentially a utilitarian product and give it new life with your sense of color and pattern play is exciting. It's the kind of collaborative effort that I find so inspiring.

I have read your blog for quite a few years now...I live by the water through your eye and the lens of your camera. Thank you so much for sharing it, and your family life. Lucy is adorable, her childhood memories are going to be filled with magic!

I do not live in a good place, it's too hot to walk, to dry for green, nothing to photograph. It's holding me back but it can't be helped. I have no choice but to look for inspiration on the net but must confirm your point about losing your authenticity when you do. I feel I'll never find my own voice but I continue to create every day anyway. My studio is my sanctuary and all I do is play. It's how I escape from my not so good place and I don't know what I'd do without it. I enjoy your blog tremendously and thank you for the glimpse of what might be.

Congratulations and I look forward to seeing what your collaboration brings!!! Fabulous pictures - so bright and colorful and full of life! ps...Wherever did you find your caftan? I simply adore it and want one! Love that color!! Hugs ")

Alisa, such beautiful and inspiring photos! I love your vitality and energy and can just agree with all the tips you share here! It is so important to look in our own life and dive into our own being to express what really comes from us and who we are.

Congrats on your collaboration with UGG!!! I learned to "see" and collect from my Gram. Walks along the river or the railroad tracks were sprinkled with tales, observations, plant knowledge, etc. Much to my mother's dismay, I never came home without pockets bulging. I picked up a sea grass basket at Cannon Beach years ago. It is my catch all for feathers and seed pods. Bowls are for buttons, shells, seeds, etc. My husband thinks we live in a nature history museum. It all makes life much more interesting. :)

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